AMATEUR DANCE REVIEW: Onyx Dance Academy Showcase - Waterside, Sale. Greater Manchester.

This afternoon the students [in the region of about 50] of Onyx Dance Academy in Altincham presented their annual showcase of work to an audience of majority family and friends at Sale's Waterside theatre.

However, the show was somewhat spoiled by this afternoon's audience. Sadly, and this is becoming more and more the norm nowadays, fewer people seem to know the rules of theatregoing. In the audience this afternoon I counted at least 10 parents using their phones to video the dances their children were performing in. Not only does this contravene TWO laws [copyright and child protection], it is also extremely annoying and irritating for those seated close by. Further, the number of patrons who found it acceptable to come into the auditorium late at both the start of the show and after the interval, and use the torch facility on their phones whilst doing so was also very inconsiderate. And to the father of two young boys who allowed them to use the raked seating as a climbing frame, I have no words...! Neither is it acceptable to wave and shout to your child whilst they are on stage - however this is also a two-way thing, and the children should have been told that acknowledging their parents and waving back is also a big no-no!

Without any programme or stage annoucements I was truly at a loss to be able to comment on any of the dances individually. I have no idea of the age ranges of the groups, or even in some cases the genre of dance being showcased. What I did see though were that many of the groups were of both mixed age ranges and mixed abilities, which meant that some of the dancers were able to execute the routines with ease, whilst others were struggling to keep up. This meant that the overall effect looked somewhat ragged and under-rehearsed. The same goes for the entrances and exits of the groups each time. 

Some of the youngest dancers (tiny tots) performed their routines with an older dancer at the front. This worked nicely and gave them the confidence they needed. Undoubtedly for some this would have been their first time on a stage in front of an audience.  

The dances were interspersed with, in the first act, a short duologue acting piece between two young girls - an original take on the Sleeping Beauty story. This was a good idea but the two girls needed either to project their voices more or have been given mics. And in the second act the same two young girls singing a song. 

A couple of hours of children doing what they love and enjoying themselves is always heartwarming to watch. All the dancers on stage were trying their best and putting their alls into the show; and I know they were enjoying themselves {despite none of them actually smiling on stage!} - and of course this was a huge learning curve for all involved, and so congratulations to you all. 

Reviewer - Matthew Dougall
on - 9.7.22